JOEY Barton is eager to sample life on an even bigger stage after his successful adventure with England's under-21 squad.

The Manchester City midfielder crowned a man-of-the-match performance against Portugal earlier this week with a goal, and that followed an impressive debut against Macedonia in Skopje.

A booking against Portugal will rule him out of David Platt's plans for next month's trip to Turkey, but that news failed to dampen the youngster's spirits - and Barton can't wait for his next international call-up.

Though it is most likely to be for the under-21s, Barton has set his sights on catching the eye of national boss Sven Goran Eriksson and - qualification allowing - playing his way into the Swede's plans for Euro 2004.

He does, though, appreciate that is all for the future and is more concerned with his present - doing well for the Blues and continuing to learn about the perils and pitfalls of Premiership football.

Priorities

"First and foremost, I'm concentrating on playing for City," said Barton, who signed a two-year extension to his contract with the Blues this week.

"If that (a full call-up) came along, then it would be great, because it's your boyhood dream to play for England.

"I've done it at under-21 level, so I'm obviously looking a bit higher. It would be a nice bonus, but my priorities lie with City.

"I think if you're playing well at a big club like City week-in, week-out, then international honours will come. Contracts come and go. It is not about that at this stage for me. It's about being at the right club and I think I am because we're going to be challenging for things.

"I just want to play as well as I can in every game. It's nice to be involved, and it shows that you're doing something right at club level. It's been a bit of a bonus.

"It's also nice to pitch yourself against the best young players in the country." Though he admitted to feeling tired after all the travelling and training that has gone on in the last six weeks, Barton reckons the chance to spend sometime away from the confines of Carrington was beneficial.

Naturally confident, Barton felt he had little trouble fitting in alongside vaunted youngsters such as Francis Jeffers, Gareth Barry and David Prutton and is looking forward to the chance of working with them again.